Researchers Say Low-Carb Diet Benefits Diabetics

TC · medicine forum Guru Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 1814

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/521247/

Newswise - With a continuing epidemic of type 2 diabetes and
dwindling resources to combat it, new approaches are clearly needed.
Because it is disease of insulin and blood sugar regulation,
low-carbohydrate diets have been an obvious choice for diabetic
patients but have been resisted by some professionals and agencies in
favor of pharmacologic approaches.

Now, medical researchers in Sweden have reported a follow-up study of
patients on a low-carbohydrate diet up to 22 months and report stable
improvement and reduced need for medication.

The Swedish group, led by Dr. Jorgen Vesti Nielsen, had previously
reported on16 obese patients on a 20-percent carbohydrate diet over 6
months. After 22 months, patients continued to show improvement in
hemoglobin A1C, a marker for long-term blood-sugar levels in diabetes.

The paper published today in Nutrition & Metabolism, an open access
journal [no subscription required
(http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/home/)], also reports that seven
patients who immediately switched to a 20-percent carbohydrate diet
from a low-fat diet in the earlier study also showed improvement.

According to Richard Feinman, PhD, editor of Nutrition & Metabolism,
"It is a small study, but it is the longest of its kind and it shows
people coming off medication and improving their glycemic control."
Dr. Feinman is also professor of biochemistry at SUNY Downstate Medical
Center in Brooklyn.

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TC

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